Dreams or Reality?
by zodiac dragonHatori
Summary: A spin off of StillsandPhotograph's Metro. Her mind playing tricks on her. Musa's dreams have been getting worse, affecting her in reality as well. What is the cause of the dreams? And why is she having them at all?
1. Chapter 1

This is a sort of spin off from one.foot.out.the.door's story Metro, I had permission of course, so please don't go get a bunch of torches and hunt me down.

I also must thank LadyNightSky and one.foot.out.the.door for getting me off of my butt to start writing and for encouraging me every step of the way. So read their stuff (please)! They're good!

**Disclaimer:** I OWN NOTHING!!!! Not this story, not the characters, not the house I live in, not this computer, not this banana I'm eating-

Blaze: They get the point!!!!

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She was running away from the horde of evil swiftly trailing behind her. Tears began to trail down her face. It wasn't really happening! It couldn't be real! But just as before, she felt the blast hit between the shoulder blades as her world faded to black once again, despair filling her every thought.

Jumping with a start, she found herself in her bed in the middle of the night, drenched with sweat. _Was it all a dream? There was no way! It all felt so real, and the déjà vu vibe couldn't have just been something that I imagined up._ Looking over to see Tecna sleeping peacefully in her own bed, she felt a little guilty. The pink haired fairy was one of her best friends at Alfea.

The truth was, Musa had felt a little strange after that time they, the winx club, had gone to rescue Bloom from the hands of Lord Darkar, an evil and dark being bent on conquering the realms. Then again, what dark witch or wizard didn't crave power or total galactic domination? Being an intelligent digital and magical being of Zenith, she would be able to tell her if something was wrong with her. She had thought of telling her friends so many times. So many times of possibly telling even Riven, her boyfriend.

_Boyfriend… I still can't get used to that word. I can't even picture Riven really being a boyfriend... After all, it was just a year ago when he had betrayed us just to be with Darcy, even if she was using a spell on him._ _And afterwards, he wouldn't even give me the time of day _(she obviously hasn't seen Riven's room yet). He just didn't seem to be boyfriend material.

But he had surprised her, time and time again. Especially when he had told her how he felt right before they had split up to find Bloom, and to stop Darkar once and for all. _He was always a loner, and the tough guy._ Musa giggled. _Who would have thought that he'd actually have a soft side?_

But she couldn't burden them. After all, it was just a weird feeling that she had gotten right before the realm of Realix had collapsed. It would probably go away in a few days. At least that's what she had thought at the time.

Just recently, she began having these dreams of herself being attacked by all of their old enemies, Darkar and the Trix included. And the dreams were beginning to take their toll on her. She was always waking up in the middle of the night, and felt tired throughout the day, almost falling asleep in class twice. Not even having the energy or inspiration to pick up an instrument to play a song at all, she just trudged though the days waiting for them to end.

Everyone had shrugged it off as some stress from the upcoming exams and the double winx combat training that Ms. Griselda had assigned to get them to be more prepared for another possible attack. She felt drained, both physically and emotionally. She sighed, hopefully it would pass and things would return to normal for her soon. After all, she was used to having nightmares… especially after her mother had died.

She slowly forced herself out of bed after realizing that she wouldn't be able to get anymore sleep that night. Steadily heading for her dresser and pulling out some clothes, she made her way to the bathroom. Looking at her reflection, she could see that her appearance was beginning to change. Her dark blue eyes usually full of light and life were even darker and duller than usual, black almost. Her once bouncy dark bluish black hair lay limp, lacking any shine it used to have. Her face was paler than usual, almost as white as a sheet.

She didn't know what was happening. But she couldn't, no, she _wouldn't_ worry her friends with her problems. Hoping that this would all just pass. Hoping that she was just a little sick from something that she had eaten. Hoping that she had just caught a bug from a trip out in the rain.

But as she was changing, something caught her eye. Taking a closer look, she saw a large bruise right between her shoulder blades, eyes widening. Right where Darkar hit her… in her dream.

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Well, there was my attempt at a fanfic. Hopefully it wasn't too horrible to read. I'm also sorry about the length. I'll try to make them longer. Keyword here is _try_.

And once again I want to say thanks to LadyNightSky and one.foot.out.the.door. THANKS!!!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

I know! I'm actually updating? The last time I ever did anything on this site was about 3 years ago.

Actually, this update isn't my own either. Chrissiemusa has asked to continue this story, and as we have all seen, it's very likely that I will not have the time to work on it anytime soon. So chrissiemusa will take over the writing of this story while I help out a little here and there.

You can also see the updates on her site, chrissiemusa dot wordpress dot com, along with the beginnings of some of her other stories. All of which sound like they're going to be pretty good.

Again, this will be written by Chrissiemusa, not me. I hope you will all enjoy the story.

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Chapter 2 – Morning in Hell

The morning sun shone through the windows and welcomed the Alfea fairies, awakening them from their slumber, all except for one who had been awake all night and was now curled up on the couch, her knees folded up against her chest. She couldn't think straight, going over her thoughts, trying to remember if she had hit anything during the days that could cause such a bruise to her back. Nothing. Could that bruise really have been caused by the Lord Darkar in her dreams? What was happening to her?

"Musa," a voice began behind her. Musa's head turned to face Flora who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Have you been up all night?" Musa looked to the girl, she seemed to be so happy and full of life even at this ungodly hour of the morning. "No," Musa sighed before she looked back to the floor. Then with a slight grimace, "Yes," she admitted.

"What is it?" Flora asked, wondering if Tecna had been playing games all night to keep the music fairy from her slumber. "Nightmare," Musa replied. It seemed the lack of sleep would only allow her to converse in one word replies. "Are you okay sweetie?" Flora asked placing a hand on Musa's back. Almost instantly, the music fairy's back arched in pain causing her friend to lift her hand immediately. "Musa have you hurt your back?"

"No! I'm fine." Musa protested rising to her feet.

"Honey you were just in pain, what's going on with you?"

"It's nothing. I'm alright." She replied, more than one word this time. "Just forget about it."

"Maybe you need to see the nurse," Flora replied standing to her feet.

"I don't need to see anyone," Musa replied loud enough to cause Tecna to open their room door to find the source of the sound. "What's going on? It's a bit early for arguing isn't it?"

"I just put my hand on Musa's back and she flinched. I am trying to tell her to go and see the nurse but she's being completely unreasonable."

"Maybe it is a good idea," Tecna sighed. "You have been really tired lately. Have you been getting any sleep?"

"Look, just stop worrying about me," Musa replied, trying to pull a convincing smile. "I'm fine. I just need to get out of this dorm for a while." And with that she walked through the door and down the hallway, aiming for the quad.

_'They wouldn't believe me if I told them'_ she thought. '_They would think that I'm crazy, and so would the nurse. Even in the world of magic there are limitations to what they could diagnose as insanity. If anything, they'll think I'm mad and lock me away for eternity OW!' _Musa felt her back hit the floor as another fairy knocked her over, appearing to have been in a rush to get somewhere. "Ow! Sorry about that, I should have been watching where I was going." The teenager replied before holding a hand out to Musa. Musa rolled onto her side to take the pressure from her back and took the girls hand. Musa took a step when she closed her eyes for a second. "Are you okay, I didn't hurt you did I?"

"It's okay," Musa replied stepping past the girl and continuing to her destination. Finally reaching the quad she took a seat on an outside bench and felt the sun's warming rays. They may have felt good on her skin but they were not helping her get well. Her body had been weak, her mental wellbeing was damaged and now her physical condition was being affected as well. She didn't like what she saw in the mirror last night, the darkening eyes, the limp hair without shine, the almost porselyn white complexion. Something was happening to her, but could she tell the others without being ridiculed for it?

The day had continued to roll along, the sun still shining in the sky and the students walking back from classes. Musa trailed along with her friends, hoping for the day to be over, not that the night would bring an end for her. Stella began talking about her nail color as Bloom laughed along. Musa normally would have said something about how vain it was to be talking about things like that but her energy levels prevented it. "Musa are you okay?" Asked Layla as she slowed down her pace to walk next to her friend, "You haven't said a word all day."

"I'm fine," Musa replied again, earning herself the same looks from Tecna and Flora who knew differently.

"And my hair this morning!" Stella continued, loudly demonstrating with hand gestures. "It was an absolute frizz-fest, I am so glad that no one saw me this morning. You wouldn't look at me the same way again. Thank heavens I had called Brandon and postponed our date until tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" Musa asked, rather sheepishly.

"The weekend silly," Stella bragged prancing around the tired, blue haired girl. "I made plans for the guys to come over. We are going on a trip to the beach to chill out and relax for a while. Heaven knows we need it, especially you Musa."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You really have to ask?" Stella replied harshly. "Look at you, you have massive bags under your eyes, your hair is limp and dull, you have become whiter than a ghost, and you still wonder what the problem is."

"You have no idea okay!" Musa yelled before turning away from Stella, leaving the other girls to wonder what would happen next. "No idea?" Stella retaliated. "We know you haven't been yourself Musa."

"Will you just back off?"

"No!" Stella yelled before Bloom pulled her best friend back and stepped forward herself.

"What Stella meant to say was that we are worried about you". Musa looked to the floor for a moment, now would be the best time to tell them. '_I need your help or_ _there is something wrong. I need to tell you all something. I know I haven't been myself and thank you for being such great friends and checking up on me even though I have bitten and chewed your heads off several times already_.' Musa remained quiet. It seemed that no matter what she said nothing was going to make her feel any better. "I'm fine, I just need some time to think."

"I think you need to get some sleep," Layla sighed. "Come on; let me walk you back." Musa didn't have the energy to argue and instead followed her friend to the dorm. Layla opened the door for her and helped Musa to lie down on her bed. Musa's eyes drooped further; her body had been craving this all day long. "Are you worried about the exams?" Layla asked sitting next to her. "Is that what's making you act out so much?"

"It's not them," Musa sighed looking to the ceiling.

"Then what is it?" Layla asked. "Come on you need to tell us what's going on. Does it have anything to do with your mom? Flora told us you had a nightmare but she never mentioned what it was about."

"Look, let me worry about my problems," Musa sighed rolling onto her side.

"Damn it Musa!" Layla yelled turning her friend over forcefully. "You don't have to be so stubborn all the time you know. We know something is wrong. I mean look," Layla stood to her feet and walked to Musa's music book. She took it into her hands and closed it, spraying white dust over the floor. "You haven't played a single note from this book for weeks now."

"It's complicated," Musa sighed. "Nothing makes sense to me anymore."

"Then talk to us," Layla sighed. "At first we thought it was stress but Musa you look like you are breaking apart."

"Can we talk about it later?"

"I guess," Layla sighed. "Try to get some sleep Muse," Musa rolled onto her side as the door shut behind her. Musa looked to her guitar, leaning against the wall when her eyes began to close.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's chapter 3, again written by Chrissie Musa at her wordpress blog, which is Chrissiemusa(dot)wordpress(dot)com.

The story will be updated there a day sooner than it will be here. She has a few other stories being written as well, so it'd be interesting to check out.

Chapter 3 – The Cold of Night

Musa's feet moved as quickly as they could past the green trees and brown rocks within the forest. Looking over her shoulder she saw Icy raise a hand and shoot another attack at her legs, causing the fairy to quicken her pace. "Come on little fairy," Icy taunted. "Can't you run any faster?" Musa shut her eyes.

'_Please legs for the love of Winx don't give up on me now,' _she begged '_I have no choice but to transform, it's the only way,' s_he concluded before beginning to say, "Winx Char…" But before she could finish her command another blast threw Musa to the ground. In an attempt to cushion her fall she placed her hands flat to the ground. Instead she heard the sound of her wrist cracking, making her land awkwardly. Rolling over she felt her wrist throb and begin to swell. She groaned when Icy, Darcy and Stormy landed solidly in front of her, the suns reflection against their boots like one of Stella's best make up mirrors. Musa tried to scramble away using her feet but her back hit a tree preventing her from moving any farther. Each witch looked down at the fairy menacingly. "No, leave me alone," she begged, only realising now how weak her voice actually sounded.

"You really think that we would?" Darcy taunted. "Since when have we ever listened to our prey?" Musa didn't reply but watched as Icy bent down to the fairy's level. "You look tired little fairy." Musa didn't reply, she didn't want to admit anything the witches she strongly believed should never have entered the world.

Icy smirked before beginning to chuckle. They always loved the look of uncertainty on their victims' faces. It helped them to feel powerful, showed that they had the upper hand, let everyone know they had all the power. "You know ladies," Icy began, turning her head to face them. "I think our little pixie has a problem."

"With you maybe" Musa interrupted.

"No," Icy interrupted. "I meant with yourself." Musa didn't have a reply. "Feeling a little under the weather?"

_'Yes,'_ Musa answered in her mind silently, although her eyes gave away her thoughts and deepest fears. Icy continued, "A little drained of energy?"

_'You mean totally drained of energy'_

_"_A little alone and sad?" Musa's bottom lip quivered as the witch listed each of her emotions, almost in the exact way she had answered the questions in her mind. She hadn't felt alone, or had she? She was living in a roomful of people. She was constantly surrounded by her friends, but was it possible to still feel alone when you were surrounded by so many people that cared about you? "I'll take your silence as yes," Icy smiled.

"You don't know a thing about me!" Musa yelled trying to stand to her feet but failing as Icy held a hand in front of her face. "I'm afraid you could never be more wrong… Musa," she whispered quietly before her hand began to glow. Musa tried to move her body but saw that it was pointless, her were frozen to the green grass below her. When trying to make her legs move, she felt the ice begin to creep its way up her legs, her waist, down her arms and finally up her neck. The cold and numbing feeling began to reach her head and the sinister ice then began covering her eyes and mouth, suffocating her, cutting off the life-giving air. Musa held her breath, took one last breath, one last chance to try and save herself.

"Musa!" Tecna yelled, in an attempt to wake her fidgeting friend. Musa's body was shaking and shivering violently her skin was also beginning to pale, from what appeared to be a lack of air. "MUSA WAKE UP!" She screamed but nothing was working. "Forgive me for this Musa," Tecna replied, using as much force as she was comfortable with, she slapped her friend's cheek. Musa's eyes shot open as she took in a deep breath of air. With her body still shivering from the cold, she lay still for a moment taking in quick but deep breaths as she tried to pull herself together. She may have followed Layla's advice about getting some rest, but right now, she wondered if she would ever be able to sleep again. Quickly she sat on the end of her bed as Tecna placed a warm blanket over the shivering fairy. Musa stayed still, her eyes glued to the floor. Tecna knelt in front of her friend. "Musa," she whispered, after a long silence from her friend she continued, "Musa what just happened?"

"It…was," Musa shivered. 'A_nother bad dream? No. The Witches attacking me in my sleep? No. How could I even begin to explain that? I wish I could tell you but you will just think I'm crazy. Everyone would just put it down to stress and leave it at that. I'm still not even sure about what's going on… What should I say?' _she wondered, picking her words carefully before she settled on the only word she would, hopefully, get her friend to back off. "It's nothing."

"Musa I know it's not nothing!" Tecna retaliated before placing a hand on her friend's arm. "Why are you so cold? We are having the warmest weather we've ever had in Magix. It's not logical for you to be feeling this way". Tecna placed a hand on Musa's, but the darker haired fair shifted them away from her with a grimace. Tecna frowned at her friend's action. "Musa…"

"Look just leave it okay?"

"Musa at least let me look." Musa looked to her friend then to the floor, glancing slightly at her swollen hand. Musa finally gave in and held her hand forward. Tecna took hold of her wrist and examined the swelling as well as the large bruise that was forming. "Looks like you have sprained it." Tecna commented before walking to her desk and using her lady bug scanner to look over her friend. The beetle scanned her skin before responding with the correct answer. "It's definitely a sprain. Luckily there wasn't a fracture… Still, we need to get a dressing for that." Tecna began working through her drawers one by one to find the first-aid kit they kept in their room.

"What time is it?" Musa asked, her body finally feeling the warmth of the night.

"It's about twelve pm," Tecna replied before returning with the kit and sitting next to her friend. Using the clips on the plastic case she opened it and removed a bandage from its packaging. Musa looked to the floor as she held her hand out for Tecna to treat. "Musa I know you don't like to talk about your personal life and your problems," the technical fairy started as she began wrapping the material around her wrist and tightening its strength. "But you have to tell us what is happening." Musa didn't reply.

She wasn't even sure about how to respond. _'I know Tec,_I know I should tell you the truth_. You would be able to tell me if it was something serious or not. I know I should tell you the truth but would you think less of me if I did? Would you even believe me?' _

"It is just not normal," Tecna continued as she finished the bandage and attached a clip to keep it still. "What I saw was not something normal."

"You think?" Musa snapped standing to her feet. "I know it's not normal or logical," she yelled. "That's why I'm confused. It just…" she paused, beginning to pace the room. "I don't understand and I don't know what to do. I don't know even know what they were talking about… I just…"

"What are you talking about?" Tecna asked suddenly. She placed her hands on Musa's shoulders in an attempt to get her to calm down.

Musa looked into her friend's teal eyes. "You wouldn't understand." The dark haired fairy removed herself from the room before closing the door behind her. Upon entering the bathroom, she turned on the light, seeing that all of her features had become even more muted. Her hair had no shine now, and her eyes were dark, even with the makeup she had used to cover them. She looked like she was sitting on death's door, simply wondering and waiting for when someone would turn the knob. Musa removed her shirt and turned to see the same bruise on her back; it was still just as dark and didn't seem to be healing at all. In fact, the injury seemed to have been growing in size, and had even become darker, if it was possible.

Tecna stared at the recently shut door while wondering what had been going through her friend's head. It was obvious that something was wrong but even so, it seemed that Musa wouldn't talk. How were they supposed to help her if she never let them?

The next morning Musa gazed over the Alfea grounds as the sun's rays stretched out over the horizon. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen the sun rise in the morning. Most of the time, she was the one to sleep in through both suns and never saw anything, now she was the only fairy to see the first sun rise into the sky. _'And so the weekend begins,'_ Musa sighed. Placing her left hand over the bandage that Tecna had set last night, her thoughts turned toward a certain specialist. _'Riven will be coming today,'_ she remembered. _'What will he say when he sees this? When he sees me like this?'_

"Okay Musa spill," a voice came from behind her. Musa turned to see Tecna striding over. "You know that we are going to find out sooner or later. So why not just tell us now?"

"Because," Musa replied tersely.

"Because why?" Tecna enquired. "Musa, if it comes to it I will use a truth spell, and you know that I don't want to if I don't have to." Tecna placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and peeked up to see her cold, dull face. "Musa please tell us what's happening. We are all worried about you."

"You don't have to be" Musa murmured so quietly that Tecna almost mistook it for the wind. "We care about you, I just wish you would start to care for yourself more as well."

'_I know you care, sometimes I wonder if you all care too much. Every time we fight an enemy, I wonder about how much pain we would feel if we ever lost one of us. What if one of us ever disappeared and never returned? What if one of us __we__ passed on from this life and into the next? How much would it affect me or, even worse, how would the others react?'_ "It's just," Musa sighed still looking out over the quad. "I'm afraid Tec," _'Afraid, I never thought I would say that word out loud, especially to Tecna or any of the other girls. Heck why did I even choose that word in the first place? Was it because I really am?' _

"What about?" Tecna replied turning around and sitting on the edge of the balcony to face Musa. "Is it about the Witches and Darkar coming back? I know for a fact that we are all in the same boat about that one."

"About my dreams," Musa responded. "Tecna, I know I haven't been truthful but it just doesn't make any sense to me, and I don't know how telling someone else could help them to understand either."

"Try me," Tecna smiled. "Let's talk in our room." Tecna took her friend's arm and helped to lead her back through the double doors. With a soft click the door closed behind them. As Musa sat down on her bed Tecna headed towards her computer desk. "Okay let me boot up my computer and get the lady bug scanner set up," Musa didn't argue this time and sat watching Tecna's fingers type vigorously on her computer. '_I wonder if she has ever made a mistake on that keyboard before?' _Musa wondered before she smiled slightly _'Probably _not.'

"Okay Musa, what's been going on?" Musa's eyes lingered on the floor for a bit as Tecna looked at her friend.

"I keep having nightmares, every night, about our enemies. They're always attack me, and I'm helpless against them. Darkar was first, he hit me between the shoulders." Musa removed her red top and let it fall to the floor. She turned to show Tecna the size of the bruise as her bug scanned it. "It's been getting worse every night. The bruise was half the size it was the night before. Last night was the Witches' turn," Musa continued as Tecna took the results from her bug. The darker haired fairy glanced up at her friend, "You think I'm crazy don't you? That I might even think that it's possible that people attacking me in my dreams would hurt me in reality."

"On the contrary Musa, I think we need to delve deeper into this."

"Why?" Musa asked as she was replacing her shirt. Walking up behind Tecna's desk she stared at the small bug curiously. "What are the results?"

"How long have you been having the dreams?" Tecna asked as she was connecting the small bug to a PDA type pad to transfer the data.

"Since we left Realix," she admitted in a grimace.

"That long?" Tecna shot up, her eyes trying to find her friend's. "You waited this long to tell anyone?"

"I didn't want anyone to worry about me," Musa sighed. "We were all so happy celebrating since we beat Darkar, turned Bloom back to the good side and returned the codex. Why would I want to ruin the party with my problems?"

"Does Riven know?" Tecna asked while continuing to check her data

"Well…" she paused. "Not really."

"What does 'not really' mean?"

"I haven't told him yet. Only you and Flora know about the nightmares."

"Actually," Tecna began, pausing a bit from her typing. "The girls kind of came in last night, and they heard me trying to wake you up. They know there's something wrong."

"Great… They'll all think that I'm mentally whacked out now too." Musa ran her hand through one of her pigtails "What I want to know is what's causing these dreams." Musa frowned again. " I just feel like I'm wasting your time. I am probably losing it. After last night I'm amazed you didn't call the police to cart me away to some realm for the psychologically/mentally insane."

"I would never do that," Tecna began. The loading bar on her results was nearing the 100 percent mark. "Not without the right evidence," the screen flashed white showing Tecna a graph.

_'Gee, that's reassuring. ' _Musa shook her head of the sarcastic remark. She shouldn't be thinking that way. That's just always been the way that Tecna was. It didn't mean that her friend cared for her less. Turning her attention back to the computer, she looked to her friend in confusion. "What is it?"

"Do you see that red line?" Tecna pointed, the straight red line crossed the screen horizontally.

"Yeah."

"That line represents your ordinary level of magic. Yours, as is everyone else's, is quite strong. Bloom's level increasing above ours only when the great dragon allows her to use its powers further."

"Uh huh."

"That green line is your current level." It was almost half the level it was before, in fact, the line seemed to be decreasing even further. "It seems that day by day your magic is being drained somehow."

"It's not just because of my energy levels?" Musa enquired, looking closely at the graph in front of her.

"No," Tecna began. "Winx is only your magical power, your power over music. This could explain why you haven't been playing your instruments or listening to music often. It's because your control or enthusiasm over your power decreases as your winx does."

"So what is that black line?" Musa asked pointing to the screen again.

"That black line is the scan I produced of the bruise on your back," Tecna explained. "Its aggressive spike toward the top of the chart indicates that the bruise has some kind of abnormality whenever you seem to feel weakest. My guess would be that it has something to do with your decreasing energy."

"What?" Musa slightly laughed in a nervous chuckle. "How can a bruise do that?"

"The bruise is almost entirely made from dark magic," Tecna explained. "From this it looks like someone has been using your dreams as a medium to your powers through which they are slowly draining them. As for whatever purpose it's being done for, I'm not absolutely certain I know yet."

"How is that even possible?"

"I am not entirely sure," Tecna explained. "All I know is that the only way to stop the dreams and their hold over you, to stop them from draining your Winx is to find them at the source. You said something about the Witches and Darkar coming back, did they say something in your dream?"

"Not really," Musa replied before she began pacing. "Icy kept on asking me questions; she knew that I was sick." She paused, her eyes widening as realization dawned on her. "Do you think… " She glanced up at her magenta-haired friend. "Do you think that Darkar and the witches are doing this?"

"That is a definite possibility. If it is them we need to figure out how and why they are doing this," Tecna sighed. "Well the first thing we need to do is tell the others what has been happening. When they are up to speed there is something we need to do. And Musa…" Tecna paused, causing her friend to stop her pacing and to look her in the eyes. "You aren't going to like it."


End file.
